Deck 19: A: Reading

Question 1

The main independent variable (manipulated variable) in Aronson and Mettee's study on cheating was:

A) reward.
B) self-esteem.
C) attractiveness of the alternatives.
D) the sex of the experimental confederates.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The main reason that Aronson and Mettee administered the California Personality Inventory (CPI) to their subjects in the card-cheating experiment was:

A) to measure the subjects' chronic self-esteem.
B) to determine whether some subjects might be too sensitive to participate in an experiment involving deception.
C) to determine which subjects displayed personality characteristics that would lead them to engage in cheating or other dishonest behavior.
D) to provide the experimenters with a "cover" for manipulating subjects' self-esteem by providing bogus test results.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

In discussing the results of their study on self-esteem and cheating, Aronson and Mettee acknowledge that alternative explanations of their findings are possible. In their view, the major rival explanation is:

A) anger and aggressiveness directed toward the experimenter by subjects in the low self-esteem condition.
B) cognitive consistency theory.
C) compensation-that is, low self-esteem subjects cheated to make sure they won some money, thus "compensating" for not having done well on the bogus personality test.
D) reward-reinforcement theory-"It pays to cheat."

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Aronson and Mettee's main hypothesis is that persons who experience lowered self-esteem will be more likely to cheat than persons who experience heightened self-esteem. The major assumption underlying this prediction is that:

A) dishonest behavior is inconsistent with high self-esteem, and people strive for cognitive consistency.
B) persons who are most susceptible to having their self-esteem lowered are already predisposed to engage in cheating behavior.
C) persons with high self-esteem never cheat because they have "more to lose" and little to gain by cheating.
D) low self-esteem creates an attitude of "I have nothing to lose," so that persons with low self-esteem are more likely to risk being caught cheating.

Question 5

By analyzing both the cheating behavior of subjects and their chronic levels of self-esteem as measured by the CPI, Aronson and Mettee found evidence for which of the following?

A) People with high chronic self-esteem were disproportionately clustered in the "High Self Esteem" (HSE) experimental condition.
B) In the "No Feedback" condition (NSE), more "low chronics" cheated than "medium chronics."
C) The greatest proportion of cheaters were "low chronics" in the "Low Self Esteem" (LSE) experimental condition.
D) The greatest proportion of cheaters were "low chronics" whose self-esteem was not manipulated by the experimenters.